Homeowner shocked by huge water bill

WaterOne admits misreading meter

When an Overland Park woman got a huge water bill and no explanation behind it, she reached out to KMBC's 9 Can Help.

Christina Belanger said she and her husband just moved into a new Overland Park home in November. After using water for just nine days, she received a bill for $236.

"We told him, it's not ours. We didn't even turn on the sprinkler system," Belanger said.

However, the previous owner did use the sprinkler system while trying to sell the house. He watered every day.

Belanger said she thinks the utility, WaterOne, misread the meter. After a couple of months of confusion, she reached out to 9 Can Help.

"I feel better," she said. "I can talk to somebody about it because I don't know anybody around here."

WaterOne admitted to the mistake, saying it solved the problem last Friday and planned to call Belanger this week.

The utility said Belanger's bill was reduced to $19.10 and it also gave her a $30 credit.

WaterOne said it misreads a meter in less than one out of every 5,000 bills.

The utility released a statement about the incident:

"WaterOne is committed to excellent customer service, so we appreciate the opportunity from KMBC 9 to ensure that WaterOne is upholding its standards. We are pleased to report that prior to being contacted by KMBC 9, WaterOne credited Mrs. Belanger’s account to reflect a “true bill” of $19.10 for her first billing period and issued her a $30.00 Commitment to Excellence credit in recognition of her patience in getting this resolved. We look forward to having her as a customer at WaterOne."

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